Lowndes Vikings
Top Teams In 7A
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We’re almost at the midway point for the high school football regular season. I want to take a look at some of the top teams in 7A and see how they have done thus far.
#1 Buford: The Wolves are the top team in the state and ranked #4 nationally by USA Today. They are reigning state and national champions. They have beaten some strong teams like #6 Gainesville (6A), Miami Central (FL) and Grayson.
They got a boost after Week 1 when five-star defensive lineman Jalen Brewster transferred in from Texas. He’s also rated #4 nationally for the class of 2027.
They’re about to start region play this week. AAAAAAA Region 8 is extremely weak. There’s only one other team that has at least a .500 record.
#2 Carrolton: The Trojans are always competing for a state title but coming up just short. They were 14-1 last season, with the only loss coming to Buford in the state championship game. They also lost the state championship in 2024 and 2022.
There are only three other teams in AAAAAAA Region 2 but they are tough. They consist of Douglas County, #8 Westlake and East Coweta. Carrolton is a legit contender. They are ranked #12 nationally.
#3 Newton: This is an odd position for the Rams because they aren’t a traditionally good program. They have a lot of talent on the roster this year like four-star RB Kevin Hartsfield.
They started the season with a double overtime win against Douglas County. Since then, it’s been all blowouts. A couple of notable teams they beat are #8 Roswell (6A) and Warner Robins.
They’ll start October playing at #8 Westlake. They also have Grayson and Archer in their region, so we will find out if The Rams are contenders.
#4 North Gwinnett: The Bulldogs advanced to the state semifinals last season. They picked up where they left off and they have not played a close game yet. They’ve won every game by double digits, with the closest margin of victory being 13 points.
They’ve already started region play but they will play the tough teams later in the season. That includes #6 Brookwood, Peachtree Ridge and Parkview.
#5 Lowndes: The Vikings are also beating up on the competition. They finished last season 10-2, losing in the second round of the playoffs to North Gwinnett. They start play in AAAAAAA Region 1 October 9th, which is considered the toughest region in the state.
That consists of Camden County, Richmond Hill, #7 Valdosta and #10 Colquitt County. The Vikings are looking to win their first state title since 2007.
#6 Brookwood: The Broncos have looked good so far. They were 10-3 last season, so they have started to get back to being one of the best programs in Gwinnett County. I spoke about AAAAAAA Region 7 earlier when I talked about North Gwinnett, so I won’t mention that here. Their last state title was in 2010.
#7 Valdosta: The Wildcats have more wins than any football program in the country. They also have 24 state championships, with the most recent from 2016. They advanced to the state semifinals last season, before losing to Buford.
This team knows how to win but things will get tougher when they begin region play in mid-October.
#8 Westlake: The Lions are playing well. This school is known for producing talented players like Cam Newton, Adam “Pacman” Jones, Malik Willis, Chance Warmack and A.J. Terrell.
They get to the playoffs consistently but have never won a state championship.
1-7A Rankings
By: Ron Reagin
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Region 1-7A has five teams this year — Valdosta, Lowndes, Colquitt County, Camden County and Richmond Hill — but the new GHSA Post-Season Ranking Formula is already separating them.
The formula is winning percentage (35%), opponents’ winning percentage (35%), and opponents’ opponents’ winning percentage (30%). Region champions still get a first-round home game. After that, the 1-32 seeds are driven by PSR, not region finish.
Maxwell’s model takes current results and plays out the rest of the season. For Region 1-7A, the projection (current PSR rank → predicted final seed, with Maxwell power rank in parentheses) looks like this:
Valdosta: 2 → 1 (8)
Lowndes: 7 → 9 (17)
Richmond Hill: 8 → 27 (23)
Camden County 16→ 17 (20)
Colquitt County: 18 → 5 (13)
That is the clearest snapshot of how the formula is working. Valdosta is projected to finish as the No. 1 seed in Class 7A.
Colquitt, sitting 2-2 and 17th in the live PSR, is projected to climb all the way to a No. 5 seed. Lowndes stays in the field as a No. 9. Camden holds around a mid-teens seed. Richmond Hill, unbeaten right now and ninth in the live PSR, is projected to slide to 27.
Who is benefiting
Valdosta is the early winner. The Wildcats are unbeaten and already carrying the region’s best opponents’ winning percentage. Maxwell has them finishing 10-0, winning the region, and coming out as the top seed in the class.
Colquitt County is the other big winner in the formula. The Packers lost to Thomas County Central and Lee County, two of the strongest teams in Georgia. Those losses hurt the record, but they help the schedule strength. That is why a 2-2 team is projected as a No. 5 seed when the season is over.
Camden is holding its ground. A 3-1 start and a decent Florida mix keep them in the playoff picture as a projected 17-seed.
Who is lacking the competition
Lowndes is projected to fall from a high current PSR spot to a No. 9 seed. Wins over Jenkins, Harris County, Lithonia and Blanche Ely look clean, but they do not move the OWP needle much.
Richmond Hill is the cautionary tale. Unbeaten, tied for eighth in the live PSR, and projected to finish 27th.
Wins over Effingham, Liberty County, Jenkins and Ware County have not built enough opponent winning percentage. Unless region play changes that, the formula will treat them as a bubble team, not a high seed.
Schools that play Non-GHSA opponents get no benefit from OWP or OOWP, and only get 0.9 credit in their own WP.
How the region is predicted to finish
Maxwell’s most likely predicted outcomes:
Valdosta 10-0, region champion, PSR No. 1
Colquitt around 7-3, PSR No. 5
Lowndes around 8-2, PSR No. 9
Camden in the mid-teens
Richmond Hill fighting to stay inside the 32
Region play has not started. When these five start playing each other — Colquitt at Richmond Hill, Valdosta at Colquitt, Camden at Valdosta, Lowndes at Valdosta, Lowndes at Colquitt — both the standings and the formula will move at the same time.
Late season upsets could derail a high PSR for post season. Conversely, region wins are going to be key to maintain or gain spots in the PSR for seeding in the playoffs.
The takeaway
PSRF is doing what it was built to do. It is rewarding who you beat, not just that you won.
Valdosta is ahead because it is winning against teams that win. Colquitt is still in the high-seed conversation because it scheduled TCC and Lee County. Lowndes and Richmond Hill have the records. They still need the remaining games, especially region games, to raise the quality attached to those wins.
Bottom line, stats and projections are entertaining to speculate about, but wins in the region are going to be the final determining factor for PSR in 2026.
In a five-team region, every Friday of region matchups matters twice: once in the standings, and once in the formula that will seed the playoffs. October is going to be entertaining in Region 1-7A.
1-7A Week One
By: Michael Spiers
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
If the opening weekend of Georgia high school football told us anything about Region 1-7A, it’s that nobody should expect many easy Friday nights once region play begins.
Camden County, Valdosta, Lowndes and Richmond Hill all opened with victories, while Colquitt County suffered the region’s lone defeat. That makes Region 1-7A a combined 4-1 after week one.
Of course, we’re only talking about one game. Nobody wins a region championship in August. But first impressions are still important, and each of the five teams gave us something to think about.
Let’s start close to home with Camden County. The Wildcats’ 35-21 victory at Brunswick might have told us something about Tucker Pruitt’s first Camden team that won’t show up in the box score.
Camden led 14-7 Friday night when lightning interrupted the game. After a lengthy delay, the decision was made to suspend play and resume Saturday morning.
Think about that from a high school player’s perspective. You prepare all week, travel to a rival’s stadium, get yourself emotionally ready, play one quarter….. and then go home. A few hours later, you’re getting up, loading the buses and doing it all over again.
Brunswick tied the game at 14 before halftime Saturday, but Camden responded by taking control in the second half.
That’s a pretty good first test for a new coaching staff.
Valdosta probably made the loudest statement of anybody in the region. The Wildcats went on the road and absolutely dismantled Jones County, 52-14.
It’s only Week One, but putting 52 points on the scoreboard away from home gets my attention. If anyone wondered whether Valdosta would once again be a serious factor in Region 1-7A, the first answer appears to be yes.
Lowndes wasn’t quite as explosive, but the Vikings did exactly what good football teams are supposed to do.
Jenkins scored first, but Lowndes responded with 31 unanswered points and cruised to a 31-6 victory.
The game itself was delayed nearly two hours by lightning, so apparently Mother Nature decided everybody in South Georgia needed a little extra adversity on opening night.
Richmond Hill had a much more stressful evening. The Wildcats escaped Effingham County with a 22-21 victory after Effingham scored on a long touchdown run with just over two minutes remaining. The potential tying extra point was blocked, allowing Richmond Hill to survive.
It wasn’t pretty, but I’ve never seen a standings column that asks how pretty the win was.
And then there’s Colquitt County. The Packers drew easily the toughest opening assignment of anyone in the region, facing defending Class 5A state champion Thomas County Central. Still, I don’t think anybody expected a 57-21 final score.
I’m certainly not ready to write off Colquitt after one game against one of Georgia’s best programs. The Packers have earned far too much respect over the years for that kind of overreaction. But 57-21 is still 57-21.
So what did we learn? Maybe nothing. It’s August. But we did get our first clues.
Camden showed resilience. Valdosta showed firepower. Lowndes took care of business. Richmond Hill found a way to survive. And Colquitt discovered it has some work to do.
The best part is that none of these teams have played each other yet. Eventually they will. And judging by the first weekend, Region 1-7A might be every bit the fight we expected it to be.
Bracket Busters
By: Kenneth Harrison
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
We are entering the second round of the GHSA football playoffs. Let’s take a look at some of the premier 6A matchups.
Brookwood (9-2) @ #5 Valdosta (10-1): Brookwood is the No. 2 seed from Region 7. Valdosta is the No. 1 seed from Region 1.
Last week the Broncos beat Archer 42-21. They rushed for 366 yards. Brayden Tyson had 144 yards and Jeremiah Brinson had 129.
Valdosta beat Dacula 56-28 in the first round of the playoffs. The Wildcats rushed for 335 yards in that game. Marquis Fennell led the team with 165 yards and Deron Fennell had 116 yards.
Valdosta’s lone loss this season was to #9 Colquitt County, 18-17.
The last time these teams played was 2014. The series is tied 3-3 and I think the Wildcats will win this matchup.
#9 Colquitt County (9-2) @ #1 Grayson (11-0): Colquitt County is the No. 3 seed from Region 1. Grayson is the No. 1 seed from Region 4.
The Packers beat Mill Creek 35-24 last week.
Jae Lamar rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns on 14 carries. Cohen Lawson was 12-of-24 passing for 226 yards and a touchdown. Antwan Lockett had five receptions for 128 yards and a TD.
The Rams beat Norcross 44-7 in the first round. They scored all of their points in the first half.
Deuce Smith was 12-of-14 passing for 252 yards and two touchdowns.
The last time these teams met was in 2019. Colquitt County leads the series 4-2. I believe Grayson will win.
Newton (8-3) @ #2 Buford (11-0): Newton is the No. 2 seed from Region 4. Buford is the No. 1 seed from Region 8.
Last week the Rams beat Peachtree Ridge 33-14.
They rushed for 373 yards and were 2-of-9 passing. Kevin Hartsfield rushed for 185 yards and two touchdowns. Darius White rushed for 152 yards and three touchdowns.
The Wolves beat Richmond Hill 45-0 last week. They held them to 96 total yards. Dayton Raiola was 12-of-20 passing for 204 yards and four touchdowns.
The last time these teams met was 2019 and Buford leads the series 2-0. This is Buford’s 27th straight second-round appearance. I think Buford will win big.
#10 Harrison (10-1) @ #3 Carrolton (11-0): Harrison is the No. 2 seed from Region 3. Carrollton is the No. 1 seed from Region 2.
In the first round the Hoyas beat Marietta, 45-35. Aiden Watson was 17-of-23 passing for 194 yards and rushed for 180 yards and six touchdowns. D.J. Huggins had nine receptions for 95 yards.
The Trojans beat North Forsyth 58-17 last week. Ryan Mosely had five receptions for 112 yards. Cam Wood rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns on six carries.
These teams have only played once before in 2023 and Carrolton leads the series 1-0. This is Carrollton’s 11th straight second-round appearance. I expect the Trojans to advance.
#6 Lowndes (10-1) @ #8 North Gwinnett (10-1): Lowndes is the No. 2 seed from Region 1. North Gwinnett is the No. 1 seed from Region 7.
The Vikings beat Collins Hill 37-16 in the first round. Jayce Johnson passed for 131 yards and rushed for 36 with three total touchdowns. Lowndes was outgained in this game but they had two interceptions.
The Bulldogs beat South Gwinnett 49-16 last week. They were balanced, with over 200 yards passing and receiving.
Elam Rahman was 12-of-16 passing for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Kalil Mazone rushed for 89 yards and two touchdowns.
Lowndes leads the series 2-0 and they have not played since 2019. I think North Gwinnett wins a close game.
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Travis Roland October 22 2024
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron November 7
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron October 31
Jason Bishop Show w Lawton Teston August 5
Camden County Wildcats Coach’s Show w Jeff Herron October 27
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